By Tai Wei Lim

New Technologies to Boost China’s Smart Cities Project

The construction of smart cities is the
new trend in urban infrastructure and management in East Asia and the world. It
represents the next leap of development after earlier trends in megacities and
environmentally sustainable urban development. In the 32nd ASEAN Summit (April 25-26,
2018), the ASEAN chair Singapore proposed building a network of smart cities in
Southeast Asia. South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan all have ambitions to
build their own smart cities. Likewise, China is also heading towards this
direction. In other words, there is a regional and global trend of smart cities
construction that seems to be irresistible.

Based on past precedents, whether in terms
of economic reforms or transitioning to the market economy, China has been
building up its economy through gradualist incremental experimentation (from
reformist Special Economic Zones to the Tianjin Eco-City showcase) and always
with an eye for indigenization of technologies for its own program of
modernization and the building of an advanced economy. This is likely to be the
same case for its ambition to construct smart cities. China has ambitions in
building a modernized, developed socialist economy that is integrated into the
Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and big data. The smart cities
ambition is likely to be a subset of such ambitions. China’s intention to
experiment with pioneering smart cities was announced publicly in 2012. The
major promoter for the smart cities project is the China Communications
Industry Association under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Both the private sector and the government
have their own respective interests and agendas in the smart cities project.
Private companies in China are keen to capture a slice of the smart city market
and offer their products and technologies for the technological needs of smart
cities. By doing so, these companies have an eye for the larger export market
in East Asia and beyond, since smart cities initiatives can be found
region-wide. The Chinese government hopes the implementation of new technologies
can also assist with policy implementation through technological enhancements
that can help bureaucrats and technocrats govern the cities in better and more
efficient ways.

These technologies can be divided into at
least three categories. They can be in the form of sensors that collect
targeted readings for analysis so that the authorities can improve the normal
functioning of urban facilities and infrastructure. For example, sensors can be
used to detect traffic flows. In the case of the China, traffic can become
heavy and unmanageable during the Chinese New Year festive season when many
Chinese return to their hometowns for holidays and to visit loved ones.
Therefore, sensory infrastructure can help authorities decide how to divert
congested traffic. It is not only during festive occasions that demand the use
of big data and sensory devices to make traffic more efficient. Electronic
sensors are useful throughout the year for some public transportation
functions. For example, in 2012, even in underdeveloped provinces like
Xinjiang, the authorities had already installed devices at bus stops to monitor
the movement of public buses.

The second avenue for technological enhancement
is in the field of crisis management. The Chinese government hope smart cities
can provide early warnings of natural or manmade disasters for state
mobilization of resources and rescue teams to help the victims. In the
aftermath, private sector providers can help with recovery work as solution
providers. China can use big data to collect information related to the
occurrence of natural disasters over time (longitudinal data) and then use the
data to model, make projections, predict and extrapolate future events. This will
allow the relevant authorities at the local and national levels to allocate
crucial resources to prepare for such eventualities when they occur.

Given
China’s record numbers of cities from first- to third-tier types, there is
potential for the country to evolve the world’s largest smart cities industry.

Massive disasters are not the only
scenarios for big data management. The same technologies can also help to
collect data which can help technocrats track vital information like the employment
rate and spot trends in the labor markets. Human resource management and labor
market trends are often sensitive because there are always concerns about
unemployment and its relationship with social stability in any country. Having
data based on past precedents and the longitudinal reading of trends will help
the authorities to tweak education systems to make skills teaching more
relevant to the contemporary workforce.

The third function is found in
communication infrastructure. To coordinate large numbers of front-line
stakeholders, bureaucrats need a world-class communications network and
connectivity. Communication can help the state with coordination in mass
activities, national mobilization, traffic management, etc. Eventually, given
China’s ambitions in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China may be building and
then syncing communications, logistical and transportation technologies with
other BRI countries so that connectivity can be enhanced across the BRI region.
China may also wish to work with ASEAN stakeholders as the regional
organization builds up its smart cities network. Just as connectivity is aided
by having a standard gauge in high-speed railway (HSR) systems, compatibility
and inter-operability between IT systems are also crucial.

The stakeholder approach was adopted in
building smart cities in China. First, there is a division of labor between
local government agencies, national agencies and private sector investors.
Ideally, the efforts should come from all three stakeholders so that there is a
good sharing of resources. Another principle of smart cities in China is that
the technologies introduced can help take over mundane and tedious tasks like
data collection and curation, and release human resource for more value-added activities
to contribute economically in other ways. In other words, technologies are
created to empower rather than endanger human activities.

If the private sector is able to
participate in the technological development and urban management of the smart
cities, their embeddedness in these projects may eventually make them future
partners of urban governance as well. This is especially useful if the private
sector solution providers develop local technical expertise in the technologies
deployed in the smart cities. The companies involved then become privy to
technical details in smart city urban governance and can specialize in specific
solution providing for a particular region, province or city based on local
area conditions. Just as the companies involved in China’s HSR projects
benefitted from their experiences in building and running the world’s largest
HSR network, tech companies are likely to benefit from China’s initiative to
build the world’s largest smart cities network. The economies of scale will be
staggering, and the experience gained useful for future projects.

The challenge with all smart cities
projects is to implement technologies and knowhow in accordance with the local
city-level conditions. Thus, there is a need for local pathfinders and
navigators to help out with the whole process of identifying idiosyncratic
local conditions when implementing these projects. Companies that participate
in such local projects may even gain experience in coming up with solutions to
fit local conditions and may evolve to become experienced solution providers in
the future. Therefore, there is an element of entrepreneurial opportunities as
well in building up new solution providers businesses.

Given China’s record numbers of cities
from first- to third-tier types, there is potential for the country to evolve
the world’s largest smart cities industry. Even the remotest cities like those
found in Xinjiang are not exempted from this nationwide ambition to grow and
incubate smart cities. The challenge for private sector firms is to quickly
identify cities of interest, understand their local needs and conditions, and
then work with national and local authorities to implement their technologies.
It will be a challenging and monumental task but the work in building the
world’s largest network of smart cities has started.